August 4th


Sanskrit Pearl of the day:
मांसभक्षैः सुरापानैः मूर्खैश्चाक्षरवर्जितैः ।
पशुभिः पुरुषाकारैः भाराक्रान्ता च मेदिनी ॥
- चाणक्य नीति

Transliteration:
māṃsabhakṣaiḥ surāpānaiḥ mūrkhaiścākṣaravarjitaiḥ ।
paśubhiḥ puruṣākāraiḥ bhārākrāntā ca medinī ॥
- cāṇakya nīti

Meaning of the subhAShita:
Meat-eaters, alcohol-consumers, the foolish and uneducated - the earth is weighed down and engulfed with these animals in the forms of humans.

Commentary:
People that weigh down the earth are those that entertain fallacies. Those who do not support the sustenance of dharma are dead weight on earth! They are animals in a human semblance, says the poet.

Humans were designed to be vegetarian. Hence, meat-eaters are considered to be weighing the earth down! Not just figuratively, but literally as well. By killing animals for food, man is not just spoiling his God-given blueprint but also creating an imbalance in the natural ecosystem! Hence, he is being a burden for the well-being of the planet.

Those that consume alcohol do not have much presence of mind nor can perform any deeds of essence under its influence. Their tendencies are closer to beasts than human beings as their intellect gets fogged up and negated.

The foolish and the uneducated can't do much for the welfare of the planet either. Hence, they are equated to animals as well.

Human birth is a rare blessing and should be put to use for self-improvement as well as the benefit of the society at large. If otherwise, his human birth is wasteful and his life is as good as that of an animal, says the poet.

pada vigrahaH:
मांस-भक्षैः सुरापानैः मूर्खैः च अक्षर-वर्जितैः ।
māṃsa-bhakṣaiḥ surāpānaiḥ mūrkhaiḥ ca akṣara-varjitaiḥ ।

पशुभिः पुरुष-आकारैः भारा आक्रान्ता च मेदिनी ॥
paśubhiḥ puruṣa-ākāraiḥ bhārā ākrāntā ca medinī ॥

Alternate Transliteration:
maaMsabhakShaiH suraapaanaiH mUrkhaishchaakSharavarjitaiH ।
pashubhiH puruShaakaaraiH bhaaraakraantaa cha medinI ॥
- chaaNakya nIti

maaMsa-bhakShaiH suraapaanaiH mUrkhaiH cha akShara-varjitaiH ।
pashubhiH puruSha-aakaaraiH bhaaraa aakraantaa cha medinI ॥

5 comments:

  1. change 'भारा आक्रान्ता च मेदिनी' to 'भाराक्रान्ता च मेदिनी'.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks lalitaalaalita. Was probably working on pada vigraha section and pasted it onto the sholka area itself. Thanks for catching it. It is fixed now.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fine. Good to see one who hears and rectifies.

    ReplyDelete